Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast Podcast hosted at podfeet.com shows how to use the Zoom H2 from Samson Technologies (samsontech.com) as a USB microphone on a Mac or PC.
12 years on, this video still holds up. High quality content. Direct and to the point. If you want to know how to use your H2 Zoom microphone as an external USB microphone on a Mac, this video has you covered. And see other comments for how to use it on Microsoft Windows 10 ... there's just a setting you have to set so that Windows10 identifies your device properly.
For Windows 10 there is one extra thing you need to do otherwise the H2 will appear as a device in settings but won't transfer any audio. In the AUDIO i/F menu, before using CONNECT, you need to go into FREQUENCY first and check it is set to 48kHz not 44.1 kHz. If you are using your H2 into a DAW like Cakewalk you may have to set it up as the selected input device (instead of your normal interface) and set the driver mode to WASAPI SHARED if it is previously set to ASIO. It will then appear in your inputs selection just like an interface and you can select Left Right or Stereo to go to your recorded track.
A thousand thank-yous for making this video and keeping it up all these years. I have always wanted to connect it but could never figure out how. Thank you!!
7.5 years later and your video is still helpful! I've had this mic for 5+ years, but now have a need for an external mic for my laptop. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for that, Russ! It's so funny that a goofy video made in my bathroom with a bad mic has turned out to be such a help to people. It's the gift that keeps on giving. My Zoom H2 looks like it might have bit the dust - left some batteries in it too long I think. Glad this helped you out!
I was in Amazon to buy a MIC, but I though: "oh god, I still have a H2 in the closet... let's see if I can use it via USB as a mic..." and found your video. Thank you!
You are awesome for sharing this! People often forget that the Zoom H2 is still circulating in some of our hands. All this time, I had no idea it worked with my computer as a quality mic...so cool...can't wait to check out your podcast too!
I love that this video continues to get happily viewed - I made it so long ago but evidently I wasn't the only one that didn't know the power in my hand for a long time! Glad it made you happy too Traci.
Thanks for sharing this Allison, even if it was a few years ago. I was looking for a desktop mic I could take on the road and realized I already had one, the H2, which has excellent condenser mics. I followed your directions, tried it out with Garageband, and it worked like a charm. The main trick I found is to play with the gain control on the side - I found that setting the gain high works best. Thanks again.
+Chuck Hill It makes me so happy that this little 2 minute video I shot on my bathroom counter solved a big problem for so many people. It's the gift that keeps on giving! thanks for taking the time to write.
Thanks for this, still relevant after 10 years. I bought the zoom when I was full of good intentions to try making audio podcasts. Now trying to see if I can set up to use this as a smartphone external mic.
Alison - just another voice from the InterWebs to profusely thank you for making this extremely concise and helpful video! I was up and running within 30 seconds after viewing this - had to reach for my reading classes - the H2Zoom's screen is so tiny! =]
Thank you! My iMac's internal microphone stopped working. Found your video-it was short, sweet, got right to the point, and now have I have a working mic.
Thank you Allison! I was just shopping around for a USB mic for my MAC as I'm trying to do my own vocal recordings to tracks...this will save me around $100!
Thank you thank you for this great tutorial. You were exactly what I was looking for! (PS - love your name. My first name is Sheridan, and my older sister's name is Alison!)
@@podfeet I had a little issue when I connected Mac and H2 and it was due to the difference between frequencies in the new Macs, I solved it going to "frequency" before connecting and set it at the same number as the Mac is, then the procedure you suggested. Just in the case someone would experiment the same trouble. :)
Windows 10 users note. You may experience a driver error when connecting a Zoom H2 via USB. I discovered you can get around this by going to the MENU; PLUG-IN; ON setting and connecting the power supply. It seems the H2 when connected via USB will NOT be detected as a storage device while on battery power alone. Apps like Audacity will how every detect the mics on either battery or power supply. Hope this helps.
I also have to tell everyone that: if anyone is interested in doing EVP sessions, the H2 is an excellent tool to use. Yes, nowadays, they use digital recorders, but the H2 is so sensitive in it's ability to record 360 degrees and it's incredible ability to pick up sounds and even conversations from 1 floor to another, that I wholeheartedly recommend the H2 for EVP uses.
I pretty much agree with all of this. The H2 is a very versatile recorder and works very well as a USB mic. The downside for me is the readability of the menus. They would have been fine ten or twenty years ago, but now I need strong reading glasses to have a chance.
hanks for the video. I have a Zoom H2n and hook it up, but no sound. I select H2n in the "sound" preference but it says it the "selected device has no input controls". sound registers on the zoom but not on the computer. iMac with Yosemite OS. Any Help?
is your headphone plugged into your computer or into the Zoom H2? and by sound do you mean the sound of your own voice or system sounds (assuming you're plugged into the computer).
Thanks for the video..Took me a while to figure it out...seems if I use it an a usb mike when I play back what I recorded it goes through the device as well...guess I need to figure that out...SMALL screen...wish they had computer software to view on my monitor...lol
I tested on both a Mac running Mountain Lion and on a Windows 7 machine and in both cases, I could hear system audio. I tested recording and then playing back and it was all good. If you're on Windows, the OS might have chosen the Zoom as a speaker. Mine did that once, make sure your headphone jack is the output speaker.
If you get the Blue Screen Of Death (Windows 7) when connecting the H2 to your computer, simply change the MHz (in the same mini-menu you use to connect) from 41 (.something) to 48MHz.
Yay Had0kenUK - I don't remember if I said it in the video, but I was doing a video chat with my friend Donald and he had this huge black mic cover. I asked him what kind of mic he was using and he said a Zoom H2. I was just like you - WHAT? I can use it as a USB mic??? glad I'm not the only one who didn't know this.
Used this thing all the way through my Journalism degree. Looks hilarious when used as a makeshift shotgun but yielded way better audio. Thanks to the video, rocking it on my PC for gaming now. (Also: Funny how we used to make fun of Micro USB)
Haha, I do the same thing but with the H2n. Use it for field recordings, recording music, and at the end of the night, plug it in as audio interface and use it for gaming. Super versatile and the quality is always great.
Thanks for the video. I get stuck on "please wait" screen too. (It used to work a few years ago with another firmware and OS) (I am now using firmware 1.9 and OS X Mavericks) Anyone got a solution to this problem? Thanks
Hi! I'm trying to use mi Zoom H2N as USB Microphone, it's easy, but it produces the sound in a video call (skype, zoom, Meet...) a half tone higher, how can i change ? thanks.
Hey Matias - I might know the answer. I've found with another model of Zoom, hooked up to a Mac, the OS defaults to 48KHz instead of 44.1KHz (even though the selection on the Zoom says 44.1). On the Mac, open Applications, Utilities, Audio MIDI Setup. Find the Zoom listed on the left side and look to see if the stuff on the right says 44.1 or 48KHz. You might show more than one input for the same Zoom, so flip between them if you don't find the setting on the first try. If you're on Windows it could be the same root cause but I don't actually know how to change it there. Let me know if this worked?
Allison thanks for the helpful video. Hopefully this is a helpful tip and hasn't been mentioned on your thread a thousand times already (If so, apologies). Turn on the light on the microphones screen and you will be able to read and film it with much better (dare I say excellent) quality.
Wha happa? I followed the instructions, and now I can't hear any sound. I unplugged the zoom h2 from the laptop and still no sound. Nothing is muted...?
I'm having trouble with connecting it. I make it to the very last step, but then the screen gets stuck on "Please Wait." Do you know why this would be?
i am trying to find help to use my H2N as USB "Microphone", not as a "Recorder" and i can only find this. ie, I will use a DAW in recording. Anyone can help? or am I dreaming? :-) Thanks!
Yes. In the video, I show how to use the Zoom H2 as a microphone while it's not plugged into a battery but instead is plugged directly into a Mac's (or PC's) USB port.
Allison Sheridan I think you're one of the very rare few who've READ the manual and followed through with the minutae! Thank you for doing so - I'm now off to try this with my beloved H2 and hopefully avoid having to shell out $$$ for a digital audio interface just to get direct audio into my PC. The extra magic of this info is that you get to use the multiple mic-patterns which H2 boasts - DIRECT into your computer... magic!
Aren't you kind to write such a wonderful note. I have to confess though that I did not read the manual. I'd owned the H2 for years when I was doing an interview with my friend Donald Burr and I noticed he was using his H2 as a USB mic. He taught me how to do it so I'll only take credit for making a video about it!
I've passed this info on to two others who I know have the Zoom - btw ... since I wrote, it's revolutionized the way I do voice-overs AND I can even feed a stereo 3.5 mm jack into the 'line in' input and record (a stereo keyboard or anything else, for that matter) into the PC. Thanks and thanks, again!
The other little gripe I have with this device is battery life! After about half an hour of use it seems down to 1 bar. The screen size doesn't bother me at all, its navigating around it that's a bit fiddly
I think I can actually help. This happens when either the H2 or your computer has changed the bit rate. On the Mac, you can change it in the app Audio Midi Setup (buried in Applications/Utilities). Both the computer and the H2 should be set to 44.1KHz. Let me know if that helps?
Interesting, but when I follow the directions I get the sound diverted from the computer speakers to the H2. I do show the H2 as a microphone in Audacity, but I don't get a recording.
Windows 10 seems to show it as a speaker, not a mic, but I can't find where to look to reinstall it as a mic. I've looked in the new device manager. No luck. Any ideas?
@@WoodHughes You need to set the frequency of windows and the zoom at the same frequency, either both at 44 or both at 48 mhz. otherwise it registers but there's no sound. you can change using the "frequency" menu on the zoom or using the sound settings in windows, or both :)
I get a problem when trying to record voices with Zoom H2 via USB: it makes so much hissing noise, the volume is very low (which could be controled from a recording software, but anyway...) and the quality overall is terrible. Anyone had this problem? I'm a musician and wanted to record some voices with this, but seems that using it via USB to record is not a very good option. Like it doesn't work quite like a nice microphone you plug with canon or plug.
this works , the only downside is that you cant seem to be able to adjust the input level when using it in usb mode, you ajdust it but it still comes in at 100% in windows
Same issue on my new Win 10 machine. On the old laptop however it still works. My guess is that it is a compatibility issue with the USB 3 ports. On my old laptop the H2 works but only when connected on the single 2.1 USB that was still present together with some 3.0. On my new laptop however there are only newer USB ports and the H2 doesn't work no matter what. What a shame.
For Windows 10 there is one extra thing you need to do otherwise the H2 will appear as a device in settings but won't transfer any audio. In the AUDIO i/F menu, before using CONNECT, you need to go into FREQUENCY first and check it is set to 48kHz not 44.1 kHz. If you are using your H2 into a DAW like Cakewalk you may have to set it up as the selected input device (instead of your normal interface) and set the driver mode to WASAPI SHARED if it is previously set to ASIO. It will then appear in your inputs selection just like an interface and you can select Left Right or Stereo to go to your recorded track. (I read this from @FiddlerNick, it was for me a big help, I hope for some of you as well.)
